


Not so itsy-bitsy

by JehBeeEh



Series: Tony Stark Bingo - MIV [13]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Good Boyfriend Steve Rogers, M/M, Spiders, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29904111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JehBeeEh/pseuds/JehBeeEh
Summary: Steve discovers even superheroes can be scared of things, just like normal people are.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Tony Stark Bingo - MIV [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981225
Comments: 24
Kudos: 122
Collections: Tony Stark Bingo Mark IV





	Not so itsy-bitsy

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the tweet making the rounds this week of the student that missed class due to a standoff with a bug.
> 
> TSB Fill info:  
> Name of Piece: Not so itsy-bitsy  
> Card Number: 4058  
> Name of Participant: JehBeeEh  
> Square Number: R2 - Sentient Armour  
> Rating: G  
> Pairing: Steve/Tony  
> Warning: Spiders  
> Summary: Steve discovers even superheroes can be scared of things, just like normal people are.  
> WC: 1499

Steve read and re-read the words on his phone. It just didn’t make sense. Tony had seemed excited about staying in, even if he'd made fun of Steve for wanting to cook for him. Steve knew he was just teasing because he… liked him a whole lot. (Steve still wasn’t ready to use the true L word on this, but it damned sure felt like they were both there.)

So why had Tony cancelled their plans?

When he'd asked JARVIS if Tony was okay, he'd gotten an affirmative response stating Tony was in the penthouse doing just fine.

Right.

So, he had deliberately chosen not to come see Steve. To first tell him he'd be late, and then flat out cancel. With no explanation. Had Steve really mis-read their situation that badly?

After a few minutes of Tony not replying to his last text, Steve decided he needed an answer. And to make sure Tony was okay. This was silly, really! Tony had no reason to worry about this relationship and he was going to get to the bottom of it all.

He took the stairs up to the penthouse, deciding the small bit of exercise might help calm his mind. When he pushed open the door to Tony's floor, he found the main penthouse door open, which was strange. He heard a faint, familiar mechanical whirring sound, which wasn’t as odd knowing the occupant of the space. Then he heard the repulsor shot.

Steve's heart jumped in his chest as he sprinted into the penthouse to find three armours walking around the open space, one still aiming its hand up at a hole by the television, likely the shot he just heard. None of the armours turned to him when he walked in and no one else appeared to be in the space. Steve looked around frantically, even checking the pantry and some of the lower cupboards to see if he'd find Tony.

He called out his name and when he got no response, he finally asked JARVIS where Tony was. After a long moment of silence, the British voice replied that he was in his bedroom. Steve jumped over the kitchen counter and sprinted for the room, finding the door locked.

“Tony? Tony, are you okay?” he yelled as he banged on the door.

“Steve?” Tony answered sounding properly confused.

“It's me, I promise. Can you open the door?”

Steve heard Tony call out to JARVIS to unlock the door for him and the moment he heard the lock click, he burst into the room.

Tony ignored him for the most part, sitting on his bed with two laptops and some odd half-glasses on his face. He looked absolutely fine, if a bit too concentrated on his screens. But he was dressed nicely and even had flowers next to him, so he'd clearly been planning on leaving the house before whatever happened to keep him in here did. Steve took in the room again, chest heaving from the rush of adrenaline that was starting to subside. Nothing was out of place. If anything, it was in a more organized state than usual.

“Tony, what the heck is going on?” Steve asked as he stepped further into the room.

“DOOR!” Tony yelled out as he finally looked up, stopping Steve in his tracks. “Close the door, it’ll get in!”

Steve turned and closed the door before making his way to the bed, where Tony was back to ignoring everything but the screens in front of him, making one of the armours move while the others seemed to be programmed to look for something specific in the space.

“Tony,” Steve started quietly as he kneeled next to him on the bed. “Can you explain what's going on please? Cause right now, it looks like you're being attacked by… _something_. But I was just in there and there's nothing. I need you to help me understand this. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong, honey.”

Tony looked over at him, chewing at his lower lip. “I can’t tell you. It's stupid.”

“Humour me.” Steve smiled softly at him as he calmed down a bit. It didn't seem his earlier worry was at play, which was a relief.

Tony pressed a few buttons on the keyboard and all three armours seemed to shut down in the main room. He turned to Steve with a sheepish look before he spoke.

“There was a spider.”

Steve sat and waited for more. Tony just looked more apologetic by the second. Steve opened and closed his mouth a few times, not sure what to say.

“Come again?” he finally said, his brow knitting in confusion.

Words started tumbling out of Tony fast and furious. “I was on my way out the door – I was gonna be early and everything, I was so proud of myself! Then I realized my phone stayed in here and Pep needs me to sign something, so I had to have it, so I rushed back here to grab it and when I turned around there was this huge spider hanging in the doorway. I panicked and I slammed the door shut. I waited a bit and I opened the door again and it was still there, just staring at me and taunting me. That's when I texted you the first time. Then I got an armour upstairs, figured I could squash it against the door or something and I’d be home free, but when it got up here, I couldn’t find it anymore. Tried to walk the armour around the hallway and thought it'd go faster if I added a couple more, but I still can't find it and now I need to get the decorator up here to fix all the holes, or just burn the whole place down since I don’t know where the fucker is hiding or if there’s more of them, and- what's so funny?”

Steve tried to stop laughing, he really did, but the giggles kept coming in waves, even making him fall back on the bed, making Tony look more upset.

“I'm sorry, I’m sorry,” he finally said, trying to catch his breath, when Tony's pout turned sad. “I'm not laughing at you, I promise.”

“Sure sounds like you are,” Tony grumbled.

“I promise I’m not. Just… the thought of you- of Iron Man, my strong, tough as nails, superhero boyfriend, who fights space aliens and whatever else weird shit the universe throws at us… honey, you have to admit, it sounds pretty funny for Iron Man to be scared of an itsy-bitsy spider. I just forget how human we are sometimes.”

“I promise it wasn't itsy-bitsy, it was like _this big_!” Tony made a circle with his fingers that was the size of a golf ball.

Steve didn’t say a word, he sat back up, gave Tony a kiss and then grabbed a tissue from the box by the bed, all under Tony's watchful and curious eye.

Steve walked to the door and pointed to a dark spot near a light switch, not taking his eyes off Tony who looked absolutely horrified.

“That might be why the suits couldn’t find it,” Steve informed him before he squashed the not-golf ball sized arachnid.

Steve went to the ensuite and flushed the tissue away and returned to the room to find a Tony-sized lump hiding under the covers.

“Why are you hiding?” Steve asked the covers, rubbing his hand over what he assumed was Tony's hip.

“I’m ashamed. I’m never leaving this bed ever again,” Tony mumbled.

“Come on, don’t say that. We can still go have dinner, and then we can cuddle on the couch and I’ll make you forget all about this. You don’t have to go into exile, I promise.”

“I shouldn’t need Captain America to squash a bug for me. I can never show my face in public again.”

“I don’t think the public will ever forgive me for that. Might need to move in here with you.”

Tony snorted and finally poked his head out of the covers.

“There's my gorgeous guy,” Steve smiled as he leaned in for a kiss.

“Promise you’ll save me from spiders if I leave my bed?”

Before Steve even realized what he was saying the words had tumbled off his lips. “I love you, Tony. Of course I’ll protect you from anything, big or small.”

They both froze as the words Steve had said sunk in.

“You love me?”

Steve smiled and nodded.

“Even if I’m scared of spiders?”

Steve laughed brightly. “Even then.”

“I love you too. But you have to promise me you’ll never tell anyone about this. And keep saving me from spiders no matter what happens between us.”

“You have my word,” Steve promised as he leaned in to kiss Tony, deciding now wasn’t the best time to tell him about the spider web, and its occupant, he'd spotted in the bathroom.

He'd take care of it later.


End file.
